• ISBN13: 9780691141961
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: Sociology and Anthropology
• Publisher: Princeton UP
• Publisher Imprint: Prince UP
• Publication Date: February 16, 2013
• Pages: 312
• Original Price: USD 27.95
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 690 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Life Sciences / Evolution

While we joke that men are from Mars and women are fromVenus,our gender differences can't compare to those of otheranimals. Forinstance: the male garden spider spontaneously diesafter matingwith a female more than fifty times his size. Femalecichlids mustguard their eggs and larvae--even from the hungryappetites oftheir own partners. And male blanket octopuses employ acopulatoryarm longer than their own bodies to mate with femalesthat outweighthem by four orders of magnitude. Why do these gendergulfs exist?Introducing readers to important discoveries in animalbehavior andevolution, Odd Couples explores some of the most extraordinarysexualdifferences in the animal world. From the fields of Spain tothedeep oceans, evolutionary biologist Daphne Fairbairn uncoverstheunique and bizarre characteristics--in size, behavior, ecology,andlife history--that exist in these remarkable species andthespecial strategies they use to maximize reproductivesuccess.Fairbairn describes how male great bustards aggressivelycompete todisplay their gorgeous plumage and large physiques towatching,choosey females. She investigates why female elephantsealsvoluntarily live in harems where they are harassed constantlybyeager males. And she reveals why dwarf male giantseadevilsparasitically fuse to their giant female partners forlife.Fairbairn also considers humans and explains that although wearekeenly aware of our own sexual differences, they areunexceptionalwithin the vast animal world. Looking at some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, Odd Couples sheds astonishing light on what it means tobemale or female in the animal kingdom.

Daphne J. Fairbairn is professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside. She has written widely on the science of sexual differences.